


Holding hands while the walls come tumbling down (When they do I'll be right behind you)

by fangirlandtheories



Category: Hatchetfield Universe - Team StarKid, The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals - Team StarKid
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Emma and Henry Bffs 2020, Gen, Henry Hidgens is the best, Hurt/Comfort, I say as I whump him, Paul is the boyfriend that lovingly shakes his head in exasperation at emma's antics, Sickfic, aka the best boyfriend, change my mind, he deserves the world, i really love this fandom, this was going to be a oneshot but i'm overly optimistic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:00:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27997173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fangirlandtheories/pseuds/fangirlandtheories
Summary: High school sucks, especially when you're sick, but Henry is going to pretend he's fine if it's the last thing he'll ever do, just so he's not a burden to anyone else.AKAHenry is an idiot and a terrible liar.
Relationships: Henry Hidgens & Emma Perkins, Henry Hidgens & Everyone, Henry Hidgens & Paul Matthews, Paul Matthews/Emma Perkins
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	Holding hands while the walls come tumbling down (When they do I'll be right behind you)

**Author's Note:**

> Damn, first fic for this fandom. Truthfully, I am obsessed, shamelessly. I don't know how many chapters this will be, or when I will feel inspired to write the next one, but I hope you guys enjoy as much as I enjoyed writing it.

People speak praise of the smell of rain, but no one ever talks about the implications of a rainy day, especially not in a public high school. An overcast day usually felt like an almost eerie calm that made people want to stay in, but this was practically suffocating in it’s gloominess. The rain, of course, wasn’t fully to blame as finals for the semester loomed heavily in the air, along with the smell of wet sneakers. You could see the impending test’s effects in the tight grip the teens had on their overpriced, overly sweetened cups of coffee, the bags under the eyes, the unorganized stacks of papers on the desks of frazzled teachers as they scrambled to get grading finished, all of which an unspoken sign that no one was thriving. The best thing anyone could do was rely on each other for mutual support.

“It’s like 8 minutes until homeroom, where the hell is he?” Emma groaned checking her phone.

“I’m sure he’s just running a little late, Em, I wouldn’t worry.” Paul sighed, putting his bag in his locker. He was a little concerned himself, but not nearly as much as his girlfriend.

“I’ve known Henry since we were little and he’s  **never** been late.” She pushed her hair out of her eyes, clearly annoyed. “We were supposed to meet to study bio this morning because the final is during 2nd period on Friday. He wouldn’t just blow me off, so yes I’m worried and I would like to know what’s going on.”

“How about you ask him yourself…” Paul gestured to the man in question, who was quickly striding through the crowds of people. His hair was slightly curlier than usual, sweater loosely tucked, slowly untucking itself with his long strides, and eyes darting around anxiously before they fell on the pair. He hurried toward them, unslinging his bag as he walked.

“I’m sorry!” He whined immediately. “I overslept and I missed the bus so I had to run here.” His voice was cracking, Emma noted, as she took in his full appearance.

“Jesus Hen,” She put her hand on his sweater that was slightly damp from outside. Scowling, he batted her hands away with a sniffle. “It’s fine, I was just worried.” She reached into her bag, grabbing out tissues, as they began walking to class. “I told you that you were going to catch a cold if you went to that concert, it was chilly out.”

“Biologically speaking…” Henry cut himself off with a cough. Emma handed him a tissue, which he accepted with an annoyed huff. 

“Yeah yeah, weather can’t make you sick, but it does help the bacteria or virus grow, especially if you don’t take care of yourself normally.” She knew she was mother henning, but it was her job. She grew up with him and she knew that his actual mother wouldn’t and certainly not his dad. She understood the difficulty of feeling alone within your family, so she  **had** to be protective.

“Paul…” Henry groaned, gesturing to the shorter girl.

“Em, leave him alone, everyone is running themselves ragged right now, you included.” Paul placated the impending argument. Henry had been telling them about this concert that one of his obscure bands was performing and how he absolutely, no questions asked, had to go, despite warning of the risk. Emma huffed as Henry stuck his tongue out at her. “And Henry, she’s right, you need to take better care of yourself.” The playful smile slid off Henry’s face.

“I am sorry, y’know about this morning? Missing our study session” Henry reached out his pinky towards her. “I promise I’ll make it up to you. Are you free after last period?”

“We’re supposed to go out a little bit later for dinner,” She turned towards Paul. “If it’s cool with you, would you wanna come study with us before?”

“Yes, but don’t be mad if I don’t understand what you’re talking about, I don’t have bio until next semester.” The trio stopped outside of Mr. Houston’s classroom, Paul and Emma’s homeroom. “I’ll catch you later okay?” He waved to Henry as he entered the classroom.

“Listen, if you’re not feeling well, please please go to Nurse Barnes.” Emma wrapped her arms around Henry’s neck. “No one is going to be mad at you, you can’t help getting sick.” She knew the way his brain worked better than most and therefore knew of the guilt that was still twisting it’s way through his thoughts.

“Emma, I’m fine, honestly.” He looked at her solemnly, his smile causing his eyes to wrinkle and headache to spike. She glared at him until he sighed. “Fine, I promise, but only if I start to feel really bad, okay?”

“I should not be agreeing with that, but I also know that it’s the best I’ll get.” He nodded in agreeance. The five minute reminder rang overhead, Henry blinking at the sudden noise. 

“Shit I have to go upstairs. I’ll see you later.” He blew her a kiss as he backed down the hallway, smirking as she rolled her eyes and went into her classroom. As he turned around, he allowed his smile to disappear.

So maybe he hadn’t quite overslept. You have to go to sleep in the first place, to oversleep. He rubbed his tired eyes as he remembered the morning. His mother was already at the table when he came out of his room. 

_ “Oh… Hi mom, you’re not normally up this early.” He winced at the cracking in his throat.  _

_ “Well your coughing woke me up at dawn.” She sighed. “You know I have an important meeting today.” _

_ “I know… I just…” He cleared his throat. “I’m not really feeling that great and-” _

_ “Henry hand me the tylenol.” She held her hand out. “Quickly!” She snapped. He handed her the bottle and watched as she shook out the two pills. “I won’t be able to drive you today, I have to be at work earlier than usual.” Henry couldn't help but feel the frustration begin to bubble under the surface; his own beater car broke down so he made sure that he had asked her days before for a ride so that he could meet Emma for an early study session. However, she was already in a bad mood and he felt bad that he kept her awake just because of his coughing, so he decided that arguing wasn't in his best interest.  _

_ “Ok, I’ll just take the bus.” He began to stand. _

_ “Sure, tell the world that the Hidgens’ family business is going bankrupt. Can’t even get their only child to school without the help of taxpayer money.” She swooned. The family business was ‘going bankrupt’ for his whole life. It consumed his past and if they had their way, would consume his future as well. “Walk, and if anyone asks why, you tell them that you wanted to try to lose some of that baby fat.” Henry looked down, eyes burning. _

_ “Uh, okay.” He was definitely going to wear a baggy sweater that day. At least he’d be warmer. “It’s raining though…” _

_ “You’re 18 years old Henry, at some point you need to figure things out for yourself instead of depending on others to tell you how to breathe.” She grasped her travel mug as she stood. “Speaking of, your father and I are going out tonight so you’re going to have to cook something for yourself. We won’t be home until late.” _

_ “Okay… love you.” He told her as she grabbed her bag and headed towards the door. _

_ “You too.” She responded without even glancing back. _

_ *** _

He shook his head, trying to clear the thoughts from presenting themselves. His sweater suddenly felt stiff and sweltering. He entered his classroom, preparing for Trigonometry. He hated this class on a good day. His teacher, Ms. Grove, was rude and sexist, believing that women were the only ones who could outgrow the neanderthal ancestry. He pulled out his study guide for the final that was coming up, but found his mind swimming as he tried to comprehend the mess of triangles and equations in his note. He groaned and slumped in his seat. Today, he decided, was going to be a very long day. As class eventually started, he kept zoning out, but he could feel eyes staring at him. He glanced over, only to see Charlotte quickly look back down at her notes.

“Henry, what did you get for number 17? A, B, C, or D?” Ms. Grove startled him out of his trance. 

“Um…” He could feel his pulse as all eyes fell on him. He quickly scanned his paper, but couldn’t find 17. His cheeks reddened. “It’s um… hold on let me find it…” She cleared her throat and crossed her arms impatiently. Charlotte let out a small cough that caught his attention. He noticed she was holding up three of her fingers. “Um... C?”

“Nice job. Alex, number 18?” She continued as he hissed out a breath of relief. He glanced over at Charlotte giving her a small smile of gratitude. Soon the class was over and Henry sluggishly slipped his bag over his shoulders. Biology. His favorite class. Emma. His favorite person. He had to keep up good appearances or she’d pester him all day. He stopped by the restroom, splashing some water on his cheeks, as they felt weirdly hot.

“I have some dayquil liquid tabs…” Henry jumped as Bill leaned against the door frame.

“Jeez, Bill!” He laughed. “You scared me. Um.. you said about dayquil? How did you…”

“Char.” Henry nodded his understanding.

“If the offer is on the table, I will gladly accept.” Bill tore into the plastic packaging, handing him the orange oval. 

“Bad day?” He asked.

“Could be worse.” Henry shrugged.

“Could be better.” Bill adjusted his bag. “Well you know where to find me if you need anything.” He smiled as they both exited the restroom and began making their way towards their next class.

***

It was fair to say that Henry was the best actor. He made it through all of biology without so much as a sniffle. To be fair, his costar, Dayquil, was performing perfectly as well. The performance had come to a close, however, and it was clear that there would be no matinee. However, a new performance would be happening, as his theater class was starting, and he was one of the best students. Zoey was currently doing her monologue so he was next and he was actually really excited, despite how much his throat protested speaking long term. As Zoey finished, the class applauded, and Henry was asked to begin.

Things felt different for him when he was on stage. All the stress and insecurity he had melted away when he could see an audience gazing at him with rapt attention. He felt seen, heard, unstoppable. It was like all day he was pushed under water, holding one painful breath, fearing releasing and drowning, but when he was onstage, he was a scuba diver with a tank of oxygen, releasing his secrets through performance while keeping his cards close to his chest. Everything was going smoothly until he felt a cough bubble up in his throat. Suddenly he couldn’t breathe as it turned into a fit. Face gone red from exertion, he accepted the water bottle that someone had handed him. He steadied himself.

“Would you like to continue?” His teacher asked.

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to restart, I feel like I got knocked off my flow.” His teached gestured for him to begin again. Taking a deep breath Henry restarted. He felt shaky, anxious, as he tended to get when things don’t go as planned. He saw movement out of the corner of his eye and saw one of Zoey’s friends whisper something while looking over at him, then giggling quietly. His cheeks were suddenly hot again. He quickly finished, noticing that her group kept laughing and whispering in his direction.

“...So dramatic…” Was all that he heard and he felt his eyes burn. This was  **his** safe space. The day was already going badly, he just needed a break and had hoped that this would be his reprise. Luckily, he was almost done the day, only one class left. Physical Education.

Any gym teacher would be excited at the prospect of a student who stood over six feet tall. Imagine their disappointment in finding out how physically inept he was. Henry didn’t really have to imagine, his C- spoke volumes. Truthfully, Henry realized that he probably should have gone to Nurse Barnes but he also knew that she would’ve had to call his mom and then she’d be mad about missing her meeting and then the executives would close down the business and his family would be unemployed while his parents wouldn’t be able to have date night and that coupled with the loss of income would cause a rift and they would grow to hate each other and he’d have to pick a parent and if he went home early then he’d be skipping out on Emma again and she would realize how pathetic he was and drop him and he would be all alone again and-

Definitely not going to the nurse.

So he ran laps. He ran through the coughs, through the headache piercing his skull, through the sudden nausea, through the jolts of freezing and sweating. Until the coach blew the whistle signifying the end of class he would run, ignoring the voice in his head that decided to begin mentioning baby fat. When that whistle did eventually get blown, the shrill sound broke him of his spiraling thoughts. As he slowed, it hit him just how woozy he truly felt. He blinked, hard. Once. Twice. As he shook his head, trying to clear the fog, he felt a firm, consistent tug on his arm leading him to the locker room. Now he was sitting. Look at that. 

Ted was looking at him, deeply concerned. It didn’t match his normal demeanor. “What the fuck, Hidge?” He passed him a bottle of water. As Henry began to stand, Ted forced him back to sitting down. “First time you actually hardcore run all year and next thing I know you look paler than I’ve ever seen you and you’re swaying like you’re going to pass out.” 

“I’m fine, just got dizzy, from pushing too hard I’m sure.” Henry’s voice was shredded. When did that happen? Oh right, he performed a monologue… twice, not more than an hour or so before. His body felt tired, brain sluggish. He was sweating, from exercise or fever he wasn’t fully sure, but his sweater did not look inviting.

“Jesus, learn your limits then.” Ted mumbled as he walked away. Nothing sounded better to Henry than simply going home and sleeping for the next decade or so.

“Don’t be dramatic” He grumbled to himself as he peeled himself off the bench, getting dressed and heading over towards the library. He hoped he didn’t look as dead as he felt. His stomach was still doing flips, after running and drinking the water so quickly. Henry felt his body go cold as he ran into the bathroom, throwing up the water and the bit of lunch he had eaten that day. He groaned, eyes watering. So maybe not a cold. His stomach cramped as he dry heaved. After he was finished he cupped some water from the sink into his hands and sipped it slowly, relieved at the coolness of it, his body feeling like it was on fire. He swayed, steading himself on the counter. Looking at his reflection, he knew he wasn’t about to fool Emma. He had dark circles under bloodshot eyes, his cheeks were flushed, the rest of his face pale with an underlying greenish tint. His lips were chapped and his nose was raw. He looked like a wreck.

“Don’t be dramatic.” He whispered again, trying to pull himself together again. He glanced towards his backpack, remembering that he had stage makeup in one of the pockets. He’d never been more grateful for concealer than in that moment. Tapping the product under his eyes, he began to look more alive. He decided that he wouldn’t need blush, as his cheeks were plenty flushed on their own. It wasn’t a perfect fix, but it would do the trick. He put the makeup back in his bag and began walking towards the library. He glanced out the glass doors as he passed the front entrance of the school, the rain hadn’t stopped, but had become torrential with lightning striking and thunder booming every few moments, wind howling through the trees. He realized that he was going to have to walk home again and groaned. He thought about asking Emma or Paul but he already was making them spend the afternoon with him, rather than the morning they had planned for, and he didn’t want to burden them further. When he finally reached the library he had to scan his student badge to enter through the automatic doors. He felt exhausted, the long day catching up with him, but he made a promise and he was not going to back out on it.

***

Emma wasn’t dumb. Paul either. In fact, they were both quite intelligent and even had 2 pairs of eyes between the both of them. It was obvious that Henry wasn’t feeling that well, but it was also obvious that he was pushing through it so Emma didn’t think it was as bad as it truly was. 

“He’s an adult,” she reasoned with herself. “He knows his own limits.”

They had been working quietly, as they were in the library, when the Librarian let them know that she was going to the restroom down the hall. They were the only ones in the library at that point.

“So if adenine always pairs with thymine, then we can assume that…” Henry let the sentence end with a question for Emma to answer. The lights above them flickered.

“Cytosine pairs with guanine?” Emma felt confident that she was correct but she wasn’t certain.

“Perfect! Alright so let’s move onto meiosis and mitosis.” Henry flipped a few pages ahead in his notebook and cleared his throat. His voice was hoarse at this point. “So the main difference is that-” He was cut off as a massive boom of thunder shook the room, cutting off the lights and plunging them into darkness. Paul, who was playing on his phone near them, looked up quickly, as the emergency lights were triggered. 

“Fuck!” Emma yelped as she whipped around in her seat to look out the window. It was quiet without the usual sound of electricity powering the room. The only noise she could hear was the rain pelting down outside.

“We should probably get out of here…” Paul grabbed his and Emma’s bags. “Henry, you alright?” Henry was sitting, staring straight ahead, with a vacant look in his eyes.

“Hmm?” He asked, his hands felt weirdly shaky. He noticed they were getting ready to leave. “Oh, um, yeah.” As they made their way to the door, Henry realized how dizzy he felt. He wasn’t really sure how he was going to manage walking home. His body felt like it was on fire. He decided that he was going to call an uber. As he went to push the bar of the door, it wouldn’t budge. It was an automatic lock door. They needed to scan their keys to enter and exit. The scanner was working because the power was out. With a small whimper, he realized that they were stuck.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading! Feel free to drop a comment below or to reach out to me @ fangirlandtheories on tumblr. I love you all, thanks so much!


End file.
